It was a cold start to Sunday across much of Queensland, especially in southern parts of the Sunshine State where some locations plummeted below zero degrees.  

Minimum temperatures on Sunday morning were mostly three to five degrees below the August average, though there were some spots where it dropped even lower. In the Darling Downs, Oakey dropped six below the average to a frosty –2.3 degrees, making it the third day in a row of sub-zero temperatures - a first for this year. Applethorpe (-1.7), Warick (-1.3) and Dalby (-1.1) also dropped below freezing.  

Some other notable temperatures include: 

• Roma Airport: -1.1 (5.8 degrees below average) 
• Kingaroy: -1.8 (5.8 degrees below average) 
• Gatton: 1.5 (5.4 degrees below average) 
• Beaudesert: 1.1 (5 degrees below average) 

Brisbane didn’t escape the chill with the city itself dropping to 7 degrees (3.8 below average) and the Airport to 5.1 degrees (4.7 below average), making it the coldest August morning in three years. The western suburbs were even colder. In Amberley it approached freezing with a low of just 0.5 degrees.  

Image: Clear skies and cold temperatures in southern Queensland. Source: Himawari-8 Satellite Visible True Colour

The frigid morning was made possible by light dry offshore winds combing with clear skies. This allowed the warmth of the day to escape rapidly from the surface. For those not keen on crisp mornings, there is relief on the way. Winds will tend easterly during Sunday which will increase humidity and bring in more cloud cover. This will limit nocturnal cooling in the coming days and bring milder evenings and mornings.